Testing
by lalalandfire7
Summary: The Vault is open, the Warrior and Jack dead. When Dr. Zed makes a strange discovery, the Vault Hunters are forced to cope with a new addition to their group that is less then willing to trust them. Horrible summary, uses my OC group.


They had done it. The disgusting waste of space known as Handsome Jack was dead, as well as his god like pet, the Warrior. Lilith stood, pistol still smoking, the final shot still ringing in the vault hunter's ears, the side of Jack's head caved in in a beautiful rose of blood which was pooling up from the fatal wound. She handed the repeater back to Gaige, with a murmur of thanks. The Siren then reached down to pick up the vault key and hopefully lock it away somewhere where no one would ever find it again. Ever. However, the moment her fingers brushed the surface of the thing, a holograph sprung up in a ray of light, projecting hundreds, thousands of vaults scattered around the galaxy. "Are those... Vaults?" Mordecai piped up, staring in awe at the array, having of arrived moments earlier, stumbling but otherwise ok. "You know what this means, right?" The deep baritone of Brick's voice asked, attempting to touch the hologram above him, but his hand simply passed through it." I guess there's no rest for the wicked." Lillith said with a dry chuckle, finally picking up the Vault Key, the hologram fizzling out. She turned to the Vault Hunters. "We're gonna head back to Sanctuary, meet us there when you want." The siren walked off, Mordecai and Brick in tow. In the distance there was a flash of blue light as the trio teleported away. Suddenly there was a crackling noise from their ECHO and the one and only Doctor Zed's voice came through to them, panic in his tone. "Guys, I need you to get to the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve ASAP. Hyperion did somethin bad. And by bad I mean really, really bad." A childish voice screeched from the background. "DIE!" It sounded in high pitched in fury. Zed returned, a bit more frantic. " Just Hurry Up!" The ECHO cut, leaving the Vault Hunters, still dizzy from the wild fight, with looks of bewilderment on their faces. "I guess we should go?..." Maya said slowly, the blue haired siren looking around awkwardly, a few nods and murmurs of yes as they walked robotically to the travel station, dissipating in a flash of blue group soon reappeared in the Eridium Blight, walking to a fast travel station and dispatching the few Bedrock Bullymong that hung around it. Once again, the silent confusion rang as they traveled, feeling themselves be ripped away and into nothingness, then finally bit by bit being reformed like an artist's sculpture. Gaige shook her head and lagged behind, the young mecromancer still unused to the uncomfortable feeling of teleportation. The rest of the group was met with a frantically waving Zed, as well as the loud bursting noise that could only be the bursting of a varkid pod. Something flashed into the air, and they all simultaneously aimed at it, until Zed, who they hadn't noticed had charged over, began slapping their guns down and shouting "Wait! Don't shoot her!" Now, the sheer fact that he had called a varkid "her" confused them, but they complied, looking at the flying beast. Upon closer look they were all astonished. The thing that had burst from the pod in fact was not a varkid, instead a young girl about the age of Tiny Tina. She swooped angrily at a stalker, slashing at it viciously before flying back up, her claw like fingernails dripping slag. They gasped in shock (all except Zer0 who just showed a bright red WTF on his faceplate) each stepping forward out of curiosity. She was clad in a hospital gown, and translucent, papery wings sprouted from her back, her short hair the same vivid purple of slag. Her skin was a grayish green and in some places seemed rigid and hard like an armor shell. "What the hell..." Axton said in shock, the first to break out of their trance. The girl drifted down once more, a caustic spitball she carelessly spit landing on the head of the final stalker and burning through it's shield, the pitiful creature writhing in pain as it burnt through it's thick skull, finally dropping to the ground as the acidic saliva melted the grey matter of it's brain. She landed, the wings shrinking and skin color fading to a faint olive, still keeping the greenish tint. Her hair stayed the deep purple color, and her fingernails retracted, the slag that dripped from them decorating her nails in a complex pattern of swirls similar to a siren's tattoos. She curled up on the ground, a large pod suddenly springing up and enveloping her body. A hands ripped through from the inside, ripping it in half, the top popping off. From the inside she could be seen laying down and staring at the sky, cleaning the undersides of her nails and flicking something out of her hair, a large chunk of fleshy exoskeleton landing a few feet ahead of the Vault Hunters. Zed scratched the back of his head, shifting from foot to foot. "I came down here to see some of the animals they tested on. See if there was some bodies I could go and run some tests on. And I found her in a cage with a bunch of varkids. They were all basically worshippin the girl, and I couldn't see the wings, so I thought she was trapped. I opened the cage and she rushed me, then led all the varkids out. Never seen anything like her. It's like they combined a human and a varkid then pumped her full a slag." He explained, looking almost fearfully at the young girl. Maya looked at him questioningly. "So what do you want us to do?" She asked. "I dunno, just catch her or somethin before she hurts someone!" They all nodded. "Wait. Where's Zer0?" Salvador asked, the short man glancing around. The only sign of him was a dissipating hologram. A furious screech was heard, and several cries of protest before Zer0 strode up, holding the furious girl by the wrists as she thrashed around in the assassin's grip. "I have caught the girl/ It wasn't a good challenge/ Now what must we do?" He said blankly, his shield absorbing the blows she did manage to land on him. Maya raised an eyebrow, crouching in front of the ballistic girl. "What's your name kiddo?" She asked, her reply a thick glob of acid spit in the face. She recoiled, feverishly wiping the caustic gunk from her face and wincing as it burned her skin (her shield still weak from the recent fight), a few chunks of flesh coming off with each wipe. A quick shot from a Zed healed the wound and she tried again, staring into the girl's brilliant yellow orange eyes. "What's your name?" She asked more forcefully this time, and from farther back. The girl glared at her. "I don't have a name. I am Test Subject #3795682, Code Name, Varkid Girl." She recited robotically, as if proud of it. It probably was. The Siren found it sad that all the girl thought of herself as was a guinea pig. The girl scowled at the group, and seemed to relax, before suddenly ripping a hand free of the assassin's grip and giving a shrill whistle, as well as a quick chittering noise, then grinned triumphantly. The ground began to tremor, the air alive with the sound of buzzing. The Vault Hunters glanced towards the source of the sound, backing up a bit. About 20 Varkids of all evolutions scuttled and flew towards them, larvae scurrying along at the front while in the far back a single Ultimate Badass loomed, each responding to the young girl's cry for help. A single word was spoken before all hell broke loose. "Shit." The mutated girl gave one last glance at the Vault Hunters, before letting loose a war cry like screech, and the Varkids attacked. The larvae dashed forward, claws reaching out towards the group. Zer0 jumped back, instinctively reaching towards his sword, but as he did he released his grip on the insect girl, the hybrid darting into the swarm and quickly morphing into a large pod. Several other of the varkids did the same, and it became a torn battle. Axton, Zer0 and Salvador all stayed back, using their guns to take out the flying pests, while Gaige and Maya pressed forward, hand destroying the grounded insects while also destroying the pods. Maya hit her energized palm into another pod, only to receive a cry of pain as is burst open, the body of the hybrid girl curling inwards with a quiet hiss of agony. The siren gasped, the almost finished changes on the girl reverting back to her simpler form, her arms coiling to wrap around her stomach, her eyes screwed shut, her teeth grit as she rolled out of the destroyed pod. She hit the ground with a quiet curse, removing her arms tentatively to reveal a jagged gash where the energy had torn through her flesh, a single tear threatening to drip from her eye which she took a bloodstained hand and feverishly wiped away. An adult varkid noticed the fall of the girl, making a quick chittering noise before scuttling quickly over, Maya raising her pistol to stop it before seeing it grab the girl, holding her to it's shelled chest before quickly turning into a pod. Maya watched, interest and confusion, the other Vault Hunters killing off the stragglers and then turning their attention to the badass that flew menacingly over. The pod suddenly burst, covering the siren in a thick goop, and two creatures burst out, one flying upwards and the other rolling to the ground. The adult varkid rolled with a wet plop to the ground, obviously dead, while the girl had fluidly shifted back into her more volatile adult form, the wound healed and a grin on her face. The girl threw her head back in a screech, then swooped down at the blue haired woman, slashing violently at her with her nails dripping slag once more, knocking Maya back and shattering her shield. Gaige glared up, summoning Deathtrap, but grabbing onto his back as he floated up, metal claws raised and glowing with blue energy. Said bug girl turned to the robot, glaring and spitting at it, the acidic ball melting through a bit of the metal on his arm. She shimmied up DT's back, then digistructed him back into her arm as hopped onto a Badass Varkid, using it as a step-stool. She flung herself off it's shell and into the bug girl, latching onto her waist with a tight grip. The girl let out a cry of rage, attempting to claw at the mecromancer, but failing as she had pinned down her arms and making it impossible to move. Gaige lifted her metallic arm, quickly digistructing DT back into existence. He noted the danger and let out a growl, using it's stubbier hand to grab the falling duo by the arms, slowing them down before they hit the ground. Once safely grounded "Varkid Girl" began to thrash around and hiss, struggling in an attempt to be free of the redhead's grasp. "Mechromancer: 1, Hyperion: 0" Gaige grunted triumphantly, holding the younger firmly in place. "LET ME GO! I'LL KILL YOU!" She shrieked, before quite suddenly slumping calmly down, everyone finally noticing Zer0 who stood, sniper in hand on a rocky ledge not too far away. A tranquilizer dart stuck clearly out of her neck, and the hybrid's body was limp in the girl's arms. The hybrid girl murmured something, her face scrunched up in intense concentration. "I.. I need to warn... the others..." She murmured urgently, before succumbing fully to the drug. "The others?" Maya questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You mean there is more like her?" The group all made a silent agreement, Salvador slinging the girl over his broad shoulder and readying a Torque shotgun in his other hand, each getting a suitable weapon up before walking towards the building, unsure of what was killing off a few pathetic loaders, they eventually reached the large testing chambers where Doctor Zed had said he found the girl, glancing into darkened cages. The girl slowly came to, and looked groggily at her surroundings, before very suddenly gasping, her eyes snapping open. She began frantically screaming something, which the Vault Hunters guessed was her begging them not to put her back into a cage. However, her words became clearer, and her message simply confused them. "THRESH! STALK! GRAB THE OTHERS AND HIDE, NOW!" She commanded, a squeaky, frightened voice croaking out in reply. "V-Varky?" "I SAID NOW!" She screamed more urgently. Shuffling could be heard as well as several animalistic sounds, then a thick silence, the varkid girl thrashing aimlessly about, wild kicks and punches aimed at Salvador's back "Let me GO!" She shrieked, kicking uselessly at air. A stalker could be heard uncloaking, an angered snarl of "She said let go!" Heard before a hailstorm of needles plowed into the short man. He stumbled back with a grunt, only to find his attacker no where in sight. Once again he was plowed into, the girl ripped forcefully from his arms and a fat spike stabbed into his arm. The assailant reappeared after having of run off once again, holding the mutant girl in his arms. It was a boy this time, looking the same age as the girl, a stalker tail poking out from behind him and his arms bearing the same blueish webbing poking from the crook of his elbow. He wore the same hospital gown as the girl, muddled blue hair jutting in wild spikes, his dull brown-green eyes glaring fiercely at the group all while holding the girl protectively in his arms. Said girl jumped up, slapping him in the shoulder. "Stalk! I told you to hide!" He grinned cockily. "Did you think I would listen? C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, dashing deeper into the winding halls of cages before diving into one. The Vault Hunters charged after, thoughts varying between being appalled that Hyperion was testing on children, or intrigued on how many there actually were. A spark of yellow flashed into sight, then flames engulfed the hallway, a tentacle wriggling around behind the blazing inferno. Salvador used a stocky arm to push a few people back, all of them daring not to shoot at the flailing appendage in case it was another hybrid. The tentacle snapped backwards, a glass security door sliding down after it. "What the fuck?!" Axton growled in irritation as they plowed forward, bullets flying towards the glass only to ping uselessly off it. "Damnit! Bulletproof!" The turret he had sent in not even denting the wall. "Lemme try with Deathtrap!" The mecromancer sent out her precious robot, a metallic growl heard as Gaige slapped at the glass, the sensors in the robot registering it as a threat. Digistructed claws slashed forward, managing to make a small line in the glass. Past the secure wall was 5 children, each obviously hybrids and all huddled in the back, besides a boy who was running away from a control panel. Their words couldn't be heard past the glass, but it was clear that some sort of disagreement was going on, the Varkid girl leading it all. "No! Vark I won't let you do this!" The stalker boy shouted, springing up and taking a step towards her. "What choice do we have!" The girl hissed back, tears close to falling held captive in her eyes as she gently yet forcefully pushed him back down. "Either I go with them or they take us all. I won't let them get you." She said, glaring at the group behind the glass, a sizable crack now forming as the bot worked ruthlessly on it. A young girl about 6 years old, matted, dirty brown hair and claws spoke up, hunched over a bit due to the thick armor that ran down her spine. "B-but Varky... You can't go." She whined, a pleading look in her blood red eyes. "I can't let them get you SG. I have to go." "There has to be another way." A boy with the wing arms of a rakk, mud brown eyes and the claws to match that looked about age 8 spoke softly, almost a whisper. The winged girl looked back at the window, where the robot had succeeded in making a hand sized hole. "There's not enough time." She mumbled hopelessly. "Uncle warned us about these people." Finally the thresher mix spoke, a girl with long, fiery red hair that trailed down to her waist and vivid red-orange eyes to match, long, blazing tentacles that waved in the air attached to her back, looking to be the oldest in the group, about 15. "C'mon Vark. Come with us." The girl shook her head. "They'll just hunt all of us down. Hopefully I can trick them into leaving you guys alone." She sighed, tears starting to spill. "I won't let you! Please Varky you can't go! Please!" The young skag girl lunged and clung desperately to her leg, tears flowing as she sobbed into her worn outfit. She gave the girl a sad smile. "It's ok SG. It'll be ok. But I have to go." She murmured, her voice thick with emotion. Then she steeled herself, gently prying the little girl off. There was a cracking noise from behind her and she knew she didn't have much time. "SG, Rakky, stay with Stalk and Thresh. They can keep you safe. Try to get to the Highlands. Thresh, Stalk, there are a lot of your kind there, you can stay there and have protection, and it shouldn't be too hard to get shelter." She explained, rising to her feet. The others nodded, the Rakk Boy wiping a tear from his eye, while the Stalker had a pained look, his eyes downward. A hand tugged at hers, and she looked down to see the Skag with pleading look in her eyes. She shook her head, hearing the splintering of glass and a words of planning. "Say safe." She said simply, sliding her hand out of the younger's nodding at the thresher girl who pulled the young girl away. "You too." The stalker boy said, running up to give her a quick, yet horribly painful hug before a loud shatter was heard, the girl quickly shoving him off of her and shooing them away. "Go!" The group nodded, The stalker quickly cloaking himself, and the thresher burrowing into the ground. The rakk boy gently grabbed the arms of the young skag hybrid, flying off after giving one last sad look, taking into the sky out a broken window with the skag girl's screams of protest falling on deaf ears. The varkid girl watched them disappear behind the mountains before turning to face the Vault Hunters, wiping a tear from her eye with the back of her hand. Her wings bristled outwards and look of cold hatred settled in her eyes. She scuttled up a wall to a high up box, grabbing onto it and perching there, opening it to reveal a small pistol rusted by time they had smuggled, which she grabbed and took a shot at the group with. The ensuing mechanic hiss of a bullet to a shield alerting her that she had actually hit something. She grinned, seeing Gaige stagger back as the bullet ouched into her shield. "She's got a gun." Zer0 said placidly, earning a glare from the red haired girl. "No duh." She hissed, jumping back as another shot embedded into the ground in front if her. "Get to cover!" She shouted, diving behind a large, thick Zer0 silently stalked behind Zed, holding out his palm expectantly. The doctor blinked, before reaching into his pocket and extracting another tranquilizer. Zer0 nodded, swinging his sniper off his back and loading it into the weapon before aiming at the girl as she shot wildly at the group, a look of determination on her face. He concentrated, breathing out slowly and firing, the dart perfectly hitting it's mark in her side. She gave a little hiss of pain as she plucked the thing from her hip, examining it for a moment before swaying and shortly after falling from her perch on the box, hitting the dirt with a heavy thud as clouds of dust billowed up around her. The group edged forward, the girl lying still, face down on the ground. "Well. That was... Interesting, to say the least." Maya grumbled, Zed at her side and stabbing a med vial into her arm, the skin and muscle mending itself slowly but surely and healing the wounds from the bullets that did strike her. Axton walked over, picking up the limp girl and throwing her over his shoulder. Once again the unconscious girl began to murmur, though this time she had almost a far away look. "They're... Safe..." She murmured, a sad smile that was nothing more then a tug of the corner of her lips ghosting across her face for a brief moment. Instead of commenting on what she had said, the adventurers turned and walked in silence out of the cell, the only sound the echo of their own footsteps


End file.
